Arkansas Blog

The problem here, Max, is that there is large number of people who have the same view. One would think after 8 years of this behavior and politicization of every department, they would not hesitate to move into the DoJ.

Right on, Max. They "knew or should have known," as the oft-seen legalese goes. And, as Roger points out, there is overwhelming evidence that Karl Rover and followers (and client) damned well meant to use every department of the executive branch of the United States government to create a permanent Republican majority.

One has to admire Mr. Cummins's loyalty to the Republican Party. I am, however, put in mind of the abused wife who calls the cops when her husband beats her up, then gets angry at the law enforcement people for manhandling her husband into the police cruiser.

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Right you are, Max.

The question NOW is, will there be an "October Surprise" to steal another election Republicans cannot win legitimately . . . or will the most corrupt and debased administration in American history decide it's stolen all the money and power it can, for now, and stick the next administration with the Bush administration's insurmountable ravages of our economy, Constitution and world standing?

October's only two months away.

Police states aren't built in a day.

Look, as someone who has worked for the federal government in Washington, any federal employee knows what an 'appointed' position is. They work at the will and pleasure of their boss and they are considered political positions. Clinton made ample use of this when he was president. I mean, Jamie Goerlick(not sure about the spelling), is a good example of a political hack that had no idea what she was doing while she served as deputy in the Attorney General's office. She was appointed to please hillary. So spare me the phony righteous indignation when you just discovered that there are people in appointed postion who were put there for political consideration. Good grief!!!!!!

They take and oath to protect the constitution.. not the president.

They take the same oath that the clinton appointees took. What does that have to do with the fact that they are appointed positions?

Interesting isn't it.

The civil service law that the Republican are accused of breaking was established after the assasination of Republican Preesident James Garfield by Charles Guiteau, a disguntled office seeker. Republican successor Chester A. Arthur did not want to continue the "spoils" system that resulted in the assasination of his predecessor and got the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act passed.

Wonder who will have to get assasinated to reform the current administration's concept of the "rule of law?"

The issue is illegal political partisanship. Oaths and appointees are side issues and are the usual distractive comments that contribute nothing to the debate. The citizenry have cause for "righteous indignation" if illegal actions are taken by government agencies and agents.

Again, key word is "illegal."

Strangelove,

The spelling is Gorelick (just think of Al Gore). Gorelick has been associated with many scandals since her days with the Clintons. Gorelick even has some culpability with the current housing problems. Here is a small excerpt from her wikipedia entry:

Federal National Mortgage Association

Even though she had no previous training nor experience in finance, Gorelick was appointed Vice Chairman of FNMA from 1997 to 2003. She served alongside former Clinton Administration official Franklin Raines, and earned over 26 million during her six years there. During that period, FNMA developed a $10 billion accounting scandal. [11] One example of falsified financial transactions that helped the company meet earnings targets for 1998, a "manipulation" that triggered multimillion-dollar bonuses for top executives. [12] Gorelick received $779,625. On March 25, 2002, Business Week interviewed Gorelick about the health of "Fanny Mae". [13] Gorelick is quoted as saying, "We believe we are managed safely. We are very pleased that Moody's gave us an A-minus in the area of bank financial strength -- without a reference to the government in any way. Fannie Mae is among the handful of top-quality institutions." [14] One year later, Government Regulators "accused Fannie Mae of improper accounting to the tune of $9 billion in unrecorded losses". [15]

I suppose Bud Cummins is, as Carrick says he is, indignant about the heavy rap his fellow criminals are taking. It's possible Bud was not aware of the Thousand Year Dream Karl Rove dreamed up to convert this nation to one-party rule. To do so would require roots that run deep throughout all departments.

Perhaps it was in Iraq where the fundies4Bush really screwed up. They used the same Bush loyalty routine over there to hire incompetents at all levels of the Coalition Provisional Authority. A 24 year old marketing major with family ties to big contributor wackos was put in charge of rebuilding the banking system of Iraq.
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Gorelick even has some culpability with the current housing problems.<<

Tell us Servus how Gorelick is responsible for packaging questionable mortgages, selling them to unregulated investment houses, and moving the mortgages thru the entire financial system. Yes tell us how she accomplished that since she's been gone for over 8 years.

How many years should it have taken for Republicans to investigate and clean up FannieMae? 1,2,3?
How much did they do toward this end? ZERO.

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Nice try strangelove....really...nice try. Every President has political appointees which they fill with their buddies and big contributors to their particular party.....no one cares about them. But these Justice Department jobs have traditionally been non-political appointees who are appointed because they are good at doing the job. This is where Goldie Locks jumped 49 feet over the line, her actions broke the law. What is it about President Bush that makes you want to serve him....is not only real creepy....but against all that is holy about filling a non-political position.

What will come of all this? Not a damn thing. I don't understand our Democrats in DC. Right here is where they should put their foot on the necks of a lot of guilty people who are bring down our nation. Pryor should be screaming bloody murder. Gonzales made him look like a fool in front of the nation twice.

Everything the Bush administration gets away with will be repeated by future administrations. If President Obama choses to do things the Cheney-Bush way....woe unto Republicans.....in 8 years you'll only find Republicans frozen in pieces of amber behind glass at the Natural Science Museum.

Unlike some people......I don't want to see the Cheney-Bush abuse of power in any future Democratic administrations. I don't want unfair advantage or all the power in the world in the hands of those on my side. Even when we're talking about Democrats, we're still talking about politicians. When we're talking about government......it's still government and governments have killed almost as many people as the church. We've got to get checks and balances back or it's Nazi Germany time for us all no matter which party owns the White House.

Cheney-Bush instituted a whole new way of governing.....and goddamn it sucks! I want a return to the old ways......they worked no matter what jerk was in office.

PS Alberto Gonzales doesn't know jack shit just like Bush doesn't because they were both figure head puppets. The Republicans perfected this trick with Ronnie Rayguns....put up yer puppet and then put several Oz figures behind the curtain pulling the strings. It's a great joke to play on the world.

Same with Alberto the Stupido.....he was Bush's butt buddy lawyer....never anything more. Our Justice system was being run by little kids they could work cheap and hard and long.....Gonzales was just the front man...that's why he don't know nothing when asked about any question past his name. This Mukasey freak of nature would end his days behind bars if there really was a God. He's Fredo to Cheney's Godfather.....nothing more.

Lordy...Bud Cummins may be light years ahead of a Griffin or a Goodling, but that's just because they're horrid and have demonstrated that they're brain-dead religious zealots (they think their particular God trumps our Constitution/legal system...hell, trumps everything). Shame on Cummins. (Won't waste my shames on Goodling...the empty glint in her eyes tells me she's beyond reasoning.)

Strange is just wrong...as others have pointed out...and still using the tired, old 'Clinton did it too' justification.

I honestly wonder what's the impetus (or impetuses) that turns otherwise sane people into brain-dead partisan hacks. Is it a gradual evolution that blinds em to the process/end result...or are they willing participants who knowingly partake of the Kool-Aid in exchange for material rewards?

And the Justice Department is just the tip of the iceberg. Rove loved to stack/decimate previously unknown/un-partisan areas of government...pencil pushers whose work is crucial but unknown/unglamorous. If they couldn't be breached, Rove et al would simply not fund their jobs...like those who answer our FOI's (link at name).

The next Democratic President is in for a shock...no matter how prepared.

If Bud believes the buck stops with Goodling, his argument for being unfairly terminated loses considerable steam.

The is only ONE kind of appointed position. There are several flavors. All are political. Hopefully, they can do they job but that is NOT a primary consideration. Why do you think all of those people spend their time without pay supporting these candidates?